India’s newest mammal: White Cheeked Macaque
- February 9, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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India’s newest mammal: White Cheeked Macaque
TOPIC: Environment
Context- Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have found a new mammal species in the country — the White Cheeked Macaque.
Concept-
- While the Macaque was first discovered in China in 2015, its existence was not known in India before this.
- Indian scientists have discovered its presence in the remote Anjaw district in central Arunachal Pradesh.
- The White Cheeked Macaque has distinct white cheeks, long and thick hair on the neck and a longer tail than other Macaque species.
- It is the last mammal to have been discovered in Southeast Asia.
- Both the Arunachal macaque as well as the White Cheeked Macaque exist in the same biodiversity hotspot in the eastern Himalayas.
- The white-cheeked macaque lives in forest habitats, from tropical forests to primary and secondary evergreen broad-leaved forests and mixed broadleaf-conifer forests.